


Operation: MTHE

by catfishcalamity



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Kya Makes Tenzin Regret Being Born: The Fic, People need a distraction and I am here to deliver, shenanigans and hijinks ensue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27378394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catfishcalamity/pseuds/catfishcalamity
Summary: Tenzin makes a big mistake and Kya, Lin, and the Krew all make sure he learns his lesson
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 16
Kudos: 159





	Operation: MTHE

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I figured everyone in the US needed a distraction from the election, so here. If there's any errors it's cause I'm scrambling to get this posted and haven't proofread yet  
> Also the title stand for Make Tenzin's Head Explode lmao

Tenzin was having a pretty good night, all things considered. The whole gang (or, as Bolin had named them, the Krew) had been over for a nice dinner— and it had been his favorite food, too. The avatar, her friends, and, surprisingly, a certain chief of police had all been present, as well as his siblings, which hadn't occurred in quite some time. Things had been. _..tense_ , to put it lightly, between Lin and his family ever since he and Pema had gotten together. Ever since Korra had arrived in Republic City, though, she had been slowly warming up to them. They were by no means the best of friends, he and Lin, but they had grown more comfortable around each other in the past year or so. It was still a shock when she agreed to come over for dinner, though. All in all, it was very pleasant. A nice kind of surprise, he supposed. A kind of surprise very unlike the sight that greeted him when he turned the corner into a hallway that was supposed to be empty at this hour and was greeted by two figures intertwined and pushed up against the wall.

_Was that Kya?! And-who was-Lin?! Oh, Spirits, was Kya moaning now?! He really must intervene._

"Who-Wha-I— _Kya_!", he squawked, flailing his arms, his intense flush making him resemble more a boiled lobster than a man. For her part, Lin Beifong at least had some shame, he noted, as she sprung up and pushed Kya away from her, causing Kya to trip over her skirts and land on the floor. His sister, however, was woefully lacking in that department.

"Fuck, Tenzin, really?! I was in the middle of a rather wonderful makeout session, I'll have you know. How would you like it if I interrupted you and Pema? Actually scratch that, I don't wanna even think about that. I love her, but she's too young for you, Tenny! I've been saying it for years", she said, hoisting herself back to her feet with a sigh as she stretched, her hip twinging. "My relationship with Pema is not relevant right now, Kya!", he said, his cheeks still burning. "Are you serious?! That's all you have to say right now?"

He looked over at Lin, who was blushing faintly as well, and who looked rather like she was trying to blend into the shadows in hopes of being forgotten. "Lin, please, do you have anything to say?" 

"What do you want to hear, Tenzin? 'Sorry for kissing your sister?' That's not an apology you'll be getting from me," she said, crossing her arms and furrowing her brow in true Beifong fashion. "Yeah, and I'm not apologizing either, Tenzin," came Kya's ever-so-helpful reply.

"I- no, it's not your choice in partners I'm criticizing," Tenzin said unconvincingly, the blush reaching his ears now, "it's the fact that you're doing it here. In the hallway, where anyone could see you! Kya, Lin, we have impressionable young minds here! Can you imagine if the younger people here saw you, and then they thought that _they_ could just go around sucking face in every hallway on this island?! I'd never get a moment's rest! I'm having enough trouble as it is without the young people thinking they can _kiss_ , too," he said, shuddering at the thought.

Kya scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Tenzin, it's not the end of the world. Plus, you and Pema kiss, and it's not like nobody knows what kissing is. You're just upset that it's us. Stop clutching your pearls and just go back to your room, man." 

"And leave you two here to keep playing tonsil hockey?! Absolutely not!", said Tenzin, conveniently not mentioning the point that his sister had made. _Really, did she think it was going to be that easy?!_

"Spirits, Tenzin, _really_? Tonsil hockey? Sucking face? Corrupting the innocent youth by kissing? What are you, 95?" said Kya. "Well at least I don't act like a child!" cried Tenzin, stomping his foot.

"Not to interrupt whatever sibling fight is about to break loose, but please, Tenzin, give it up. It was a lapse in judgement that won't be made again. Now go scuttle off to bed, forget this ever happened, and I'll leave the island. Okay?" said Lin, after reemerging from the shadows. 

"Aw, Lin, come on, don't leave just 'cause my brother's an idiot," whined Kya, grabbing a hold of Lin's hand. Tenzin suddenly found a spot on the floor very interesting and worthy of further visual investigation.

While it was true that he wasn't very fond of watching displays of affection amongst other couples in general, his sister had been slightly correct in her earlier assessment. It was extremely awkward to watch PDA between your big sister and your ex.

Thank Raava, Lin gently removed her hand from his sister's. "Kya, it's getting late anyways. If you want to spend time with me so badly, just come to my apartment tomorrow. I can assure you there's no _impressionable youth_ there," she said with more tenderness than Tenzin had ever seen (until, of course, the end, where she shot a rather pointed look at him). "Goodnight, Tenzin," she nodded curtly as she walked past him towards the general direction of the docks. The siblings watched her retreat in silence until she was out of earshot. After Lin had vanished from view, Tenzin became aware that there was no good way to end this conversation.

"Well, um, goo-goodnight, Kya. See you tomorrow for meditation lessons," he said, and wheeled on his toes, nearly about to break out into a run when suddenly, Kya grabbed the neck of his robe and yanked him back around.

"Nice going, dipshit! Seriously, you couldn't let me have one nice minute with my girlfriend without being a cockblocker?" said his sister.

"Kya, I-I-"

"Oh, save it." She turned and stormed off towards her room

In the dark of her room, pissed off beyond all belief at her brother and in the mood for some more physical affection with her girlfriend, Kya hatched a plan.

Kya's plan was less of a well thought out one and more of a general idea, that idea being see how long it takes Tenzin to be so awkward that his stupid bald head explodes. It was a brilliant plan, in her opinion, because it meant that she got to be more openly affectionate with Lin and also mess with her incredibly annoying little brother. _Serves him right, honestly_. Lin would be coming over to the temple again next week—she had almost refused, only being won over by Kya practically begging and the promise of watching Tenzin squirm— and it was the perfect time to begin her revenge. Kya also may or may not have started a small betting ring on how long it was going to take for Tenzin to completely lose his cool; Korra had bet on him snapping after one (1) suggestive comment (Korra had made a dirty joke in the past and Tenzin wouldn't look her in the eyes for a week), Asami had bet on a hand on Lin's back or thigh, Bolin, bless his heart, had bet on "a small kith", whatever that meant, Lin had bet on them walking towards her room together after dinner, and Kya herself had bet on her and Lin just sitting next to each other, considering how much of a prude her brother apparently was.

A week had passed, and it was The Big Night. Everyone involved in the plan had been made aware of what they were supposed to be doing (although Bolin still seemed confused, but that seemed to be a constant for him, so Kya figured it’d work out), and they all were impatiently awaiting the chance to mess with Tenzin. As Kya had pre-planned for future conversations with Tenzin about this night, it would “improve team bonding and morale.” 

Finally, the acolytes came and announced that it was time for everyone to gather in the family's dining room. Tenzin, Pema, and their children all sat on one side, and then on the other side sat, going from left to right, Asami, Korra, Bolin, Kya, and Lin.

As Kya sat opposite Tenzin, he caught a glimpse of a bruise on her collarbone. _Oh Raava, I'm really in for it now, he thought—_ it was almost hidden, just peeking out, but in a way that made it wholly apparent that she was fully capable of concealing it should she have chosen to, and that this was the beginning of what would most likely be a night of attempting to embarrass him until a vein popped. It had been a favorite pastime of hers when they were children— she had claimed that it was entirely too easy to get him riled up and that it was entertaining to see how far she could push him. Personally, he was convinced that this was some sort of divine punishment. However, he had talked to Pema after finding his sister and Lin in their... _compromising position_ last week, and she had told him he was overreacting, so at least he knew he somewhat deserved to be punished this time. However, that wasn't going to make tonight any easier. He gulped, averted his eyes and decided to settle down. This dinner was definitely going to be a story at some point no matter how it went.

Kya shifted in her seat a little closer to Lin and settled into a comfier position. She had seen her brother's eyes practically shoot out of his head, which was followed by a gulp and then the most undiluted fear she had seen from him in a long time, which meant that he had definitely seen the strategically placed hickey and definitely knew that he was in for her revenge. _Good. Maybe he'll learn to mind his own business in the future._

The dishes were placed, and the food was served, and small conversations began between the airbending children and their parents and, on the other side of the table, the self-proclaimed Krew, Kya, and Lin, with the older adults occasionally popping in to each other's conversations. 

"And then I tackled Bolin so hard that he flew ten feet one way and his shoe went ten feet in the other! It was so funny!" Korra exclaimed, gesturing wildly. Bolin piped in, eager to be part of the conversation with his best friend. "Yeah, it was! I had to go see a healer on the other side of town 'cause I broke my ankle, though. But, like, it really was funny how far my shoe went. Worth it!" 

Kya looked over at the teenager, frowning. "Bo, why didn't you just come see me? I'm sure I could've fixed it, and you know I'm closer to you than those healers on the other side of Republic City." Bolin grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, but, yknow, I didn't want to bother you. Plus, I think Chief Beifong wouldn't have appreciated me taking up all your free time." Good, he had remembered to bring up Lin. Now for the strategic hand placement. 

Kya gently set her hand on Lin's thigh and rubbed with her thumb, making sure her hand had lingered in the air long enough before descending that nobody could miss the gesture. "Well, Chief Grumpypants over here would put up with it for me. Spirits knows she can't say no to me about _anything_." Kya leaned away from Lin, putting her hand to the side of her mouth and in a stage whisper said " _She pretends to be all hard and mean, but she's the biggest softie I've ever met_."

At this, the teenagers all laughed, Kya's niblings all gasped in delight, and, as expected, Tenzin began to blush, fidget with his collar, and look anywhere but at his sister or ex. Unexpectedly, though, a faint blush graced Lin's cheeks as well. 

"Alright, Alright, that's enough, Kya," she grumbled, crossing her arms with a displeased face that seemed exaggerated for effect. After everyone turned away, Lin leaned closer and mumbled into Kya's ear. "I won't have you ruining my reputation tonight. It simply won't do to have everyone thinking I _feel_ things," she chuckled as she pulled away. It was a testament to how comfortable she had become around the found family that she had allowed herself to crack a joke, even laugh a little, in their presence. There was a time not so very long ago that she never would've considered it possible. Also, the sea prune wine that she and Kya had pregamed with had definitely helped.

Well, it seemed that Asami had been wrong; a strategic thigh touch was not what would make Tenzin snap. On to phase 2.

The conversations from before began once more, and after a few minutes Bolin began talking to the children as well, regaling them with tales of his time as a mover star and his adventures with Korra. Kya waited, slightly impatiently, for him to get to his next cue. He seemed to have forgotten completely; honestly, it was her own fault for leaving most of the prompts for the phases of the plan to Bolin. Just as Kya was about to intervene, Asami gracefully stopped Bolin in the middle of his story about being kidnapped by the equalists. "Bolin," she said, a hand reaching over to touch his arm lightly and get his attention, "why don't you tell them about the spirits you saw during harmonic convergence?" 

Bolin's brows furrowed for a second before he said "What do yo— _OH_!" He fidgeted in his seat a little, subtly getting closer to Kya, before going "I SAW A SPIRIT THAT WAS _THIS_ BIG!" and flinging his arms out as far as he could, which had the effect of shoving Kya into Lin's lap.

Kya landed sprawled across Lin, her arms draped around Lin's neck as she lay from where she had grabbed at Lin to ensure she didn't completely fall over. That boy was a little too enthusiastic sometimes. She straightened up just a little, enough to bring her face inches from Lin's, and looked up at her. "Hey chief," she said coyly, a smirk lighting up her face as she stared up at Lin through her eyelashes. Lin gulped, her cheeks staining a bright red, and she fidgeted in her seat a little. _Oh_ , thought Kya, _now_ that's _interesting_. Before Kya could do anything impulsive, though, they were interrupted by Tenzin loudly clearing his throat.

"Bolin, you _must_ be more careful! You can't keep doing this all the time. Please learn to control your limbs." At this, Kya slowly withdrew from Lin before settling herself back into her own spot. A quick look at Tenzin confirmed that the vein was in fact popping out of his temple, and that there was a faint blush on his cheeks, but it seemed that Lin had been more affected by this phase of the plan. _Interesting_ ….

It was time to really get into gear, Kya decided. Once again, the conversations kicked back up, and she gently steered the conversations of her side of the table over to Asami's latest engineering project, knowing that Lin would be interested, but also that Korra would find a way to initiate her part of the plan. There was a very wide variety of innuendos Korra could make on this topic, and Kya for one was incredibly looking forward to seeing what the girl came up with and just how far Tenzin's eyes bugged out. 

"Yeah, I've been having some difficulty with the gears grinding after I insert the rods," Asami said to Lin.

"Have you tried adding extra lubrication?" asked Lin, prompting a very loud snort from Korra as she choked on her bite of noodles and a loud smack as Kya's hand hit her mouth to keep in her own shocked laughter in. Pema turned, raising an eyebrow at the outburst, but quickly returned to the conversation that Tenzin was still engrossed in with Jinora— something about a new spirit friend, Kya noted. Lin looked at Korra, a question written on her face, and Korra nodded wildly, barely containing her laughter. Lin turned to Kya, her eyes searching, and Kya subtly nodded as well, her eyes crinkling at the sides in the way they did when she was being mischievous. Lin nodded slightly and turned to face Tenzin.

"Tenzin, don't you agree?" she said, prompting him to turn to face her.

"I'm sorry, I missed that. Do I agree with what?" he said, looking significantly less scared than he did when Kya had gotten her attention. _He doesn't think she's involved,_ Kya realized, and she smiled gleefully at the knowledge that what was coming was going to be hilarious.

"Do you agree that she needs to make sure the rod is very well lubricated before she inserts it?" Lin asked, her face doing an extraordinary job portraying innocence. Kya absentmindedly thought that she would be excellent in movers; she was amazing at keeping a straight face.

Tenzin paled, his face draining of color. _Oh Spirits, they're both in on it_ , he thought. His hands flew up and covered Meelo's ears, which made the young boy slap at his father's hands. The vein in his temple was dangerously close to popping, and his ridiculous eyebrows were furrowed. "Lin Beifong! That is _completely_ inappropriate! What you and my sister do is nobody's business and I can't _believe_ you're discussing this! And in front of the _children,_ no less!!" he said, gesturing wildly. Lin blinked slowly before responding.

"Tenzin, I was talking about Asami's latest project. What the flameo did _you_ think I was talking about?" she asked, an eyebrow raising as she leveled a stare on him that made him tug on the neck of his robes sheepishly before turning to Kya.

"Kya, I cannot believe that you've roped her into this game you're playing! This is completely unfair. I don't deserve this!"

"What game, Tenny?" she asked, blinking her eyes in a terrible approximation of innocence that was offset by her devilish grin, the tip of her tongue sticking out slightly between her teeth.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," he said wearily. "You guys back me up on this, right? She's getting revenge!" The "Krew" all over-exaggeratedly pantomimed pure innocence and insisted that nothing was out of the ordinary while Pema bit her tongue. She was fairly certain they were up to something, but to be fair, her husband had been a bit of an ass. Additionally, though, whenever Kya was playing a game, it was very entertaining to watch the results. Pema gently set her hand on Tenzin's arm, lowering it and drawing his attention to her. 

"Tenzin," she began, "I think you're a little stressed. I'm sure there's nothing going on. Why don't you finish dinner and then head off to bed? Kya and I can put the kids to bed later." Tenzin muttered an agreement and began to poke around his food. Pema sent a glance to Kya that said something along the lines of " _you're welcome. Make it worth it,_ " and Kya mouthed back a quick " _thank you_."

Eventually, Tenzin came close to finishing his food, and Kya knew that she had to finish the night off with a bang if her plan was going to succeed (and if anyone was going to win the bet). She leaned over to Lin and tucked her hair behind her ear before beginning to whisper. " _Meet me in the hallway outside Tenzin's room in five minutes_ ," she said before pressing a quick kiss behind her ear and pulling away. She cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention. "Hey, everyone, I'm gonna go out for a walk. Don't wait up for me, I think I'm gonna have a smoke and then go to sleep. Pema's right, this has been a stressful few weeks." 

"Kya, could you _please_ refrain from discussing the smoking of illegal herbs in front of my children?" asked Tenzin in a very long-suffering voice. Kya stuck her tongue out at him, made a very rude gesture, and got up, her fingers lingering on Lin's shoulder as she turned and started off down the hallway.

Lin gulped for the second time that night in anticipation and turned back around, making small talk as she mentally counted out five minutes exactly and then excused herself, citing not wanting to make the ferry driver stay up too late to take her back to Republic City as the reason she was leaving. She said her goodbyes, got up, and walked towards Tenzin's room on autopilot, her mind racing with ideas of what Kya could possibly have planned. As she rounded the final corner, she found Kya leaning against the wall, picking her fingernails. Lin stepped into view and Kya's entire demeanor shifted as she straightened, rearing to her full height, a couple inches above Lin, a slight smirk gracing her lips as her eyelids dropped slightly and she began to walk towards Lin, meeting her halfway between the corner and the door to Tenzin's room.

Kya wrapped her arms around Lin's neck and pressed up against her, and she felt Lin's aura all twisted up, tensed, and in need of some sort of release. Well, she could definitely help with that, she thought.

"Hey, Chief. Did you miss me?" she asked cheekily.

"Longest three hours of my life," Lin replied earnestly.

"Lin, it was five minutes."

"I'll be the judge of time here," said Lin, and then she placed her hands on Kya's cheeks and angled her head down to kiss her, effectively ending the conversation.

Kya ran her fingers through Lin's hair as Lin placed her hands on Kya's waist, her grip tightening as Kya deepened the kiss. Kya pulled back and started kissing up Lin's jaw, making Lin growl and press her into the wall in response. Kya brought her mouth back to Lin's and gently nipped at Lin's lower lip. Lin took this opportunity to nudge her thigh between Kya's legs, and Kya let out a soft squeak before clinging to Lin more tightly than before, closing any distance that had been between them before. 

"L-Lin...please," Kya murmured, her words muffled by Lin's lips and her voice cracking. Lin grabbed one of Kya's legs and pulled it up, her knee wrapping around Lin's hip as Lin's hand began to slowly inch up underneath her skirts, higher and higher, until—

Tenzin's unbridled terrified shriek could be heard from the dining room, where the young adults all began laughing hysterically. Pema rolled her eyes. It had always been Kya's favorite game, apparently, riling up Tenzin just to see how mad she could get him. It was his own fault this time, though, so she decided not to intervene. It sounded like Kya and Lin were shouting back just as vehemently as Tenzin was; she was fairly certain she'd find him later in their room with his tail between his legs, admitting that he had perhaps been too harsh to the two women a week ago. 

"Mom? Why is Daddy yelling? Should we go make sure he's okay?" asked Ikki. 

"He's probably being attacked by killer lemurs! I knew I trained that army too well," said Meelo gravely. 

"I'm sure he's fine," said Jinora calmly. "It sounds like he's just fighting with Aunt Kya and Lin again."

Pema tried to think of a suitable answer before finally settling on telling them that their father was in trouble with their aunts for grown-up reasons. Korra and Bolin were laughing so loudly that Pema was nearly certain the other adults could hear them, and Asami was giggling. They had definitely been in on it, then. After about 10 minutes, Korra, Asami, and Bolin left to go find the couple.

"So, what did you two do?! Please tell me Lin doesn't have to arrest herself for public indecency now," said Korra. 

"No!", laughed Kya, "we just kissed in the hallway outside Tenzin's room.

"HA! I WON!!" shouted Bolin, who pumped his fist into the air and hopped around.

"What?" asked the rest of the group.

"I won the bet! I bet that he'd snap over a kiss, and that's what did it! Everyone, hand over the money. I expect 20 yuan's from each of you," he said, smiling smugly before sticking out his hand. Korra, Asami, and Kya all fished out a 20 out of their various pockets and stuck it in his hand, but Lin stayed still.

"Well, Chief?" said Bolin. "Hand it over."

"Do I need to remind you that gambling is illegal, Bolin? I'm gonna need you to hand over that money now, or I will charge you." Bolin's smile faltered, unsure if she was joking or not.

"Haha….funny joke?" he said unsurely. Lin growled at him and he quickly shoved the money into her hands.

"Very sorry Chief Beifong! It'll never happen again, Chief Beifong!" he said quickly before grabbing Korra and Asami by the arms and dragging them off in the direction of the dining room. "Good night, guys!" shouted Korra over her shoulder.

After they were out of earshot, Kya turned to Lin, her arms crossed.

"Really, Lin? He won the bet fair and square."

"It's my payment for going along with this ridiculous scheme," grumbled Lin.

"Really?", said Kya with a mischievous grin. "I thought I was repaying you at home tonight." 

"Y'know, I do accept multiple forms of payment," said Lin.

"I was rather counting on it, dear," said Kya before tucking her arm into Lin's and leading them in the direction of the ferry.


End file.
